Because of Kurt
by donnaann55
Summary: Kurt Hummel has no idea that just being himself has affected so many lives.


**Because of Kurt**

Kurt Hummel liked himself. He knew that he was intelligent, talented, creative, caring and kind. Outside of the kids in Glee Club, however, no one at McKinley was aware of how amazing he was. To most of McKinley he was just "that gay kid, with the weird clothes." Kurt would prefer to be popular, to never have to deal with dumpster dives or Slushies, but, even so, the prevailing opinion at McKinley didn't overly concern Kurt. He knew who he was, and most days, he was happy being Kurt Hummel. Kurt figured they were even, McKinley and himself, because while McKinley obviously didn't think too highly of Kurt, the feeling was more than mutual. Kurt saw most of the students at McKinley as oblivious, badly dressed morons, mediocre minds destined to live mediocre lives.

Now, at the start of his senior year, Kurt felt that he and the student body of McKinley High had arrived at a standoff of sorts. Kurt wasn't going to change, and judging by their election of him as Junior Prom Queen last year, neither were they. Kurt's life was just about perfect right now; his father was healthy and happy with Carole, Finn had become the brother he never knew he wanted, Blaine and he were still going strong, and since Dave wasn't throwing him into lockers anymore, Kurt's only challenge would be getting the Glee Club to Nationals. This year New Directions was going to win! So, if most of McKinley didn't "get" Kurt, he was OK with that, because he knew who he was.

What Kurt didn't know, what would really surprise him, was how many people he was affecting, how many lives he was changing, just by being, himself. Kurt was a stone thrown across the water of McKinley High. His very presence created a ripple effect that touched and changed the lives of people, some of whom, Kurt had never even met.

Because of Kurt, Stephanie, a sophomore at McKinley, was having the time of her life. Stephanie didn't know Kurt, she had never actually spoken to Kurt Hummel. Stephanie had only been in Lima for a month when she started at McKinley, as a freshman, the previous year. Stephanie had studied the students around her; watching how they spoke and dressed, looking for someone who could possibly become her friend. One of the first people she noticed was Kurt Hummel. How could anyone not notice Kurt? He moved through the halls like some kind of young god, graceful and confident. Kurt didn't dress like any of the other students, he wore colours and styles that were different, often, to the point of outrageous. Stephanie wished she had Kurt's creativity and style. Mostly, though, she wished she had Kurt's courage. Stephanie wanted to make a friend at this new school so badly, but she was so afraid of saying the wrong thing, that she just never said anything, to anyone. Five long, lonely weeks went by. Stephanie's mom took her shopping, trying to cheer her daughter up. In the dressing room, staring at herself in the mirror tying to decide between two tops, Stephanie suddenly thought, "What Would Kurt Choose?"Monday morning, Stephanie wore her "Kurt Inspired" top to school. Monica, the girl who sat next to her in home room, smiled and said, "Cool top!" At lunch time, Monica waved Stephanie over and asked her to sit at her table. The words, "What Would Kurt Do", became Stephanie's mantra. Whenever she was shy or nervous, or afraid to try something new, Stephanie would think of Kurt. Because of Kurt, Stephanie had made friends, found a boyfriend and gotten a part-time job at the local mall. Stephanie's sophomore year at McKinley was going to be a lot better than her freshman year had been, all because of Kurt!

Because of Kurt, Jeff Matheson isn't worried anymore. Jeff is 35 years old, his son Gary is 7. Jeff loves his son. He thinks the sun rises and sets on the blond, blue-eyed boy. Three years ago, for his 4th birthday, Gary asked for an American Girl doll, just like the one his friend Tracy had. Jeff started to worry. Jeff had seen Kurt around, Lima's a small town and Kurt isn't exactly the invisible type. After the American Girl doll episode, Jeff made it a point, whenever he took his car in to the Hummel Garage, to always ask Burt how his son was doing. It wasn't hard to get Burt to talk about Kurt. From Burt, Jeff learned that Kurt had been a kicker on the football team, a Cheerio, and had gone to New York with the Glee Club. From his older brother whose kids were at McKinley, Jeff learned that Kurt was bullied and transferred to Dalton for a semester. Jeff's seen Kurt at the garage a few times, helping his dad. He's seen Kurt at Breadstix with his friends. Now, as Jeff pulls his car into the parking lot of the Hummel Garage, he sees Kurt talking to his dad. Standing beside Kurt, holding his hand, is a boy wearing a private school uniform. Burt laughs at something Kurt says and goes back into the garage. Jeff watches the two boys. He sees them wrap their arms around each other's waists, casually, as if they had done this hundreds of times before. He watches them walk to Kurt's car, talking quietly, smiling at each other. And just like that, Jeff stops worrying about his son. Because of Kurt Hummel, Jeff knows that Gary will not be alone. That even in a small town like Lima, Gary will find a boy to be happy with.

Because of Kurt, Greg is going to try out for the McKinley football team. Greg loves football. He's been kicking the ball around with his father in the backyard since he could walk. All the way through primary school, Greg played football. His brothers played football. His father still played football once a week, after work, with friends. Greg thought he would always play football. He thought that right up until his first day, freshman year at McKinley, when he realized that over the summer, all of his friends had grown and he had not. By his sophomore year, all his friends were six feet tall or more, Greg was 5'7". Greg didn't even bother to try out for the team. He was so much smaller than all the other guys that he thought he didn't have a chance. Greg went to the school games to cheer his friends on. He sat in the stands and tried to convince himself that he didn't want to be out there on the field. And then, in the second semester of his sophomore year, Greg watched a game that changed his life. He watched a player who changed all his theories of what was possible. Greg will never forget how the crowd cheered when the McKinley kicker walked on to the field. Greg's mouth fell open, he couldn't believe his eyes. This guy was small! The other McKinley players towered over this guy. He was not only shorter, he was smaller framed, even with the shoulder pads. The crowd fell silent; waiting, praying, and willing the ball to clear the goal posts. The crowd went wild! the McKinley players picked the kicker up and carried him around the field, everyone was cheering. Who was this guy? A girl in front of Greg, was screaming, "Kurt, Kurt, Kurt!"

Greg taped her on the shoulder, when she turned around, Greg saw that she was Asian with blue high lights in her dark hair. "Who's the kicker?"

The girl grinned at him, "That's Kurt, Kurt Hummel."

Greg spent the rest of his sophomore year and all summer practicing kicking, and measuring his height against a chart pinned to his bedroom wall. Now, at the start of his junior year, Greg was 5'9.5"; he still wasn't tall but because of Kurt Hummel, Greg was going to try out for the football team.

Because of Kurt, Katherine knows that her mother is wrong. Katherine is a good kid. She doesn't take drugs, she doesn't stay out past curfew, she gets good grades. Katherine and her mother have a good relationship. They talk about everything, almost everything. There is one subject that Katherine doesn't talk to her mother about, homosexuality. Katherine's mother thinks that homosexuality is a sin, and homosexuals are going to hell. Katherine doesn't agree. Katherine has grown up in Lima, which is to say, that Katherine has grown up knowing Kurt Hummel. They went to the same primary school. They're both students at McKinley. Katherine has heard the snickering, the jokes about Kurt. She has seen him get pushed into lockers and Slushied. At first, Katherine wondered why Kurt didn't try to blend in more, to give the bullies less ammunition. Then Katherine came to admire his courage. She knew that she could not handle the casual cruelty half as well. One day, Katherine asked herself why Kurt had to deal with any of this, what was he doing that was so terrible? He dressed differently and he liked boys, did that mean that he should be harassed every day? Kurt and Katherine weren't friends. They weren't in many of the same classes and they joined different clubs at school. Kurt did Glee and joined the Cheerios. Katherine did debate and joined the school newspaper. Katherine would never have really known Kurt at all, if it wasn't for Spanish class. Spanish was hell for Katherine. She couldn't get her mind around the tenses and the whole annoying masculine/feminine of the language. Katherine's teacher recommended a tutor, Kurt Hummel. Once a week, for two months, Katherine went to Kurt's house. While Kurt tutored Katherine, Katherine got to know the Hummel family. She listened as Kurt teased Finn about being a klutz in Glee. She laughed as Finn teased Kurt about his boyfriend. She saw how Kurt helped Carole with dinner and style advice, and how Burt always ruffled Kurt's hair as he passed him in the kitchen. Because of Kurt Hummel, Katherine aced her Spanish exam. The next time her mother expressed her opinion of homosexuality, Katherine shook her head sadly and told her that Jesus would be very disappointed in her.

Because of Kurt, Melanie is having the best sex of her life. A few months ago, stopping at McKinley to pick up her daughter, Karen, after Debate Club, Melanie heard an amazing voice. She popped her head into the choir room and saw a young man singing, "As If We Never Said Goodbye". His voice was so incredible that when he got to the words, "I've come home at last", Melanie found that she had tears in her eyes. Karen came out of Debate Club and saw her mother standing at the choir room door.

Karen looked into the choir room and shrugged. "Glee Club."

From her daughter, Melanie learned that Glee Club met every week, directly across the hall from her daughter's Debate Club. Her daughter told her that the boy with the voice, was Kurt Hummel. Karen became accustomed to finding her mother at the choir room door. It was a bit weird that her mother had suddenly become such a Glee Club fan but, hey, she didn't have to take the bus home, so who cared. Melanie told her husband and her daughter that the Glee kids were great, that the lead singers were amazing and that Kurt Hummel had an incredible voice. What she didn't tell her family, what she didn't tell anyone, was that Kurt Hummel not only had an incredible voice, he also had crystal eyes, translucent skin, narrow hips that she wanted to hold in her hands, and legs that were decadent in tight black jeans. No, she didn't tell anyone that. Kurt was her daughter's age, 17. She was 42. No, she didn't tell anyone. One night, as Melanie laid in bed, thinking about Kurt, Melanie's husband reached an arm across her body, caressed her hip and pulled her against him. It happened so quickly that Melanie didn't have time to switch her mind away from Kurt. To Melanie, her husband became Kurt. To her husband, Melanie became a whole new woman. Melanie and her husband are having sex more spontaneously and creatively than they have ever had, ever. Melanie's husband asked her about the change. He wasn't complaining, not at all. He was just curious. Melanie mentioned hormones and menopause. She didn't say anything about Kurt. Her husband didn't know, her husband would never know, but Melanie knew, that because of Kurt Hummel, she was having the best sex of her life.


End file.
